Being the nation’s largest privately held Pepsi-Cola bottler is no easy feat, but for Raleigh, N.C.-based Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV), the dedication of its people and partners is how it’s able to maintain its high standards at the company’s 28 bottling and distribution facilities in North Carolina, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Vermont, Idaho and South Carolina.
Showcased in Admiral Beverage Corporation’s Worland, Wyo., production facility is a banner with a quote from famed news anchor Tom Brokaw: “It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.” Nevertheless, the latter is what Admiral Beverage constantly is trying to do. With its headquarters situated in a town of just more than 5,000 people, a sense of community is engrained in the company’s roots — along with a passion for its business.
Beverage Industry’s 2010 Bottler of the Year is a company whose ownership isn’t afraid to take risks and innovate in order to find new ways to develop revenue streams. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, Charlotte, N.C., has built its core business this year through innovative pricing strategies, enabling its sales force with new technology, grass roots marketing and strengthening its distribution through an automated warehouse picking system.
Last year proved to be one of the most difficult years bottlers have faced in awhile. Instead of focusing on rising raw material costs, fuel prices and consumers’ declining disposable income, Beverage Industry’s 2009 Bottler of the Year, Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV), Raleigh, N.C., looks at what it can control in a difficult year, says Keith Reimer, PBV’s president and chief executive officer.